


When We Were Young

by Scarshavestories



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Based on an Adele Song, Getting Together, Harry Potter Epilogue What Epilogue | EWE, M/M, Not Epilogue Compliant, Pining, Pining Draco Malfoy, Song Lyrics, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-10
Updated: 2019-04-10
Packaged: 2020-01-07 12:51:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18411023
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarshavestories/pseuds/Scarshavestories
Summary: Based on the Adele song of the same name.Draco can’t help his emotional reaction when Harry Potter shows up at a ministry ball, years after he left the country to escape his post-war fame.





	When We Were Young

**Author's Note:**

> Masssiveeee thank you to the incredible and amazing WinterTeaCupBook (acciohelix on Tumblr) for beta-reading and cheerleading for this fic!!!
> 
> I really recommend listening to the song too! (When we were young by Adele).

The onslaught of sound is almost deafening, it’s impossible to ignore. My curiosity is piqued by the rush of shocked gasps, excited cries and spontaneous applause. I turn and catch sight of a mass of unruly black hair, still familiar after all this time.

 

 _Everybody loves the things you do_ _  
_

 

Harry Potter, the boy who lived twice, the man who saved us all, the hero.

 

 _From the way you talk_  
_To the way you move_

 

I can’t hear the words you’re saying above the noise of the crowd, but I can see the smiles and adoration on every face as you run your hand through your hair.

 

 _Everybody here is watching you_ _  
_

 

You’re instantly recognisable, despite the ways you’ve changed since I last saw you. You’ve lost the gaunt, haunted, exhausted demeanour, your features no longer display the torment and suffering of war. You look good.

 

 _'Cause you feel like home_ _  
_ _You're like a dream come true_

 

I didn’t think I’d ever see that handsome face again, not in the flesh, not outside of the photographs I can’t bear to throw away.

 

 _But if by chance you're here alone_ _  
_

 

I know there has to be someone. Ginny Weasley may have publicly announced you wanted different things and started dating Luna Lovegood, but you must have met someone else, it’s been 3 years.

 

 _Can I have a moment_  
_Before I go?_

 

It’s more than I deserve, but I just want your attention for a second, I just need to feel that spark as our eyes meet, just once more.

 

 _'Cause I've been by myself all night long_ _  
_ _Hoping you're someone I used to know_

 

You used to notice me. It was years ago, and so much has happened since, but I have never managed to move on. No one could ever make me feel as much as you do.

 

 _You look like a movie_  
_You sound like a song_

 

I can’t remember a time when love songs, poetry and romances didn’t make me think of you.

 

 _My God, this reminds me_  
_Of when we were young_

 

The world has changed, I’ve changed, you’ve changed, I’m sure, but I’m still drawn to you like a moth to a flame.

 

_Let me photograph you in this light_

 

You look incredible, you always have. I wish I could capture this moment and make it last forever.

 

 _In case it is the last time_  
_That we might be exactly like we were_  


It’s strange, seeing you here of all places. They’ve decorated Hogwarts for the ball, but I still feel the echoes of the past. I can almost see your younger self, staring at mine from across this room.

 

 _Before we realised_  
_We were sad of getting old_  


I don’t know when you stopped staring. Bigger things pulled your thoughts away from me, and suddenly nothing I could do would catch your attention.

 

 _It made us restless_  


There are so many memories, they reverberate through my conscious and keep me up at night.

 

 _It was just like a movie_  
_It was just like a song_  


Pansy made me watch a muggle film. The hero rescued the damsel in distress. It sort of felt like that, the day you swept into the ministry, took my hand and lead me out onto the street.

 

 _I was so scared to face my fears_  


I was petrified about going to Azkaban, almost as terrified as I had been of the Dark Lord, and then you showed up and forced them to drop all charges against me.

 

 _Nobody told me that you'd be here_  


Why are you back? I haven’t mentally prepared myself for this, for everything I’m feeling, seeing you in the flesh again.

 

 _And I swear you moved overseas_  
_That's what you said, when you left me_  


Australia, you told me. Hermione wanted to find her parents, Ron to stay with her and you wanted to leave.

 

 _You still look like a movie_  
_You still sound like a song_  


You rescued me, held my hand as we walked out of the ministry and pressed a chaste kiss to my cheek. I felt like I was living in a romance for those five minutes.

 

 _My God, this reminds me_  
_Of when we were young_  


Three years. It’s not that long, but it feels like I’ve aged so much, since that day you gave me hope then Disapparated away before I could react. I can still feel the ghost of your touch.

 

 _Let me photograph you in this light_  


Now here I am, at this ridiculous memorial ball, only here to take pictures of the true invitees, and here you are, looking more perfect than the day you left.

 

 _In case it is the last time_  
_That we might be exactly like we were_  


If I try, I can almost believe that nothing has changed, that we’re still the same as we were when we were at school.

 

 _Before we realised_  
_We were sad of getting old_  


Wars age people. We both grew up, and you grew away from me, you stopped following me, stopped wanting to know about me.

 

 _It made us restless_  


You couldn’t stay. That’s what you said, you had to leave, couldn’t stand the fame and the stares and the hero-worship.

 

 _It was just like a movie_  
_It was just like a song_  


They say it’s not over until it’s over in the stupid muggle films. People sing about heartbreak all the time. But no one told me how much it would hurt, to have you offer that sliver of hope, that brush of your lips against my cheek, only to have you disappear right after.

 

 _When we were young_  


I remember the first time saw you, standing in Madam Malkins, I didn’t know who you were, I just knew you made me feel something.

 

 _When we were young_  


There’s never been anyone else, it’s always been you, ever since that first meeting.

 

 _When we were young_  


You hated me. So I did whatever I could to get your attention. Your hate was better than you feeling nothing towards me all.

 

 _When we were young_  


You used to look at me with such passion, you used to feel something when you saw me.

 

 _It's hard to admit that_  
_Everything just takes me back_  


I can’t move on. I’ve changed, I’ve stopped spouting abuse because my parents said it, because it made you notice me. But I can’t move on.

 

 _To when you were there_  


I tried to get over you with someone else, but it felt wrong, I couldn’t stop picturing you as he kissed me.

 

 _To when you were there_  


You kissed my cheek, that one time.

 

 _And a part of me keeps holding on_  


I don’t ever want to forget the gentle heat of your lips on my skin, that one time I had what I’d always wanted, just for a second.

 

 _Just in case it hasn't gone_  


The flicker of hope, seeing you again, is what will kill me eventually. That question, why did you kiss me?

 

 _I guess I still care_  


Did you realise that I’ve always loved you? Was that kiss merely a selfless parting gift?  

 

 _Do you still care?_  


Have you ever felt anything for me? Was that what the kiss was about? Or am I just deluding myself?

 

 _It was just like a movie_  
_It was just like a song_  


If this were fiction, that kiss would have meant something, but this is real life, and life isn’t that kind, so it must have been a friendly goodbye, like a bisous from a Frenchman.

 

 _My God, this reminds me_  
_Of when we were young_  


One look at you and here I am again, back where I spent my teenage years.

 

 _When we were young_  


Could you ever like me? Even for a moment, could you ever see me in that way?

 

 _When we were young_  


Deep down, I’ve always known the answer, you would never go for someone like me.

 

 _When we were young_  


You always looked at me with such fire in your eyes, it set my insides alight and gave me hope.

 

 _When we were young_  


The familiar, hopeless dreams from the past, now reignited and ready to destroy me again.

 

 _Let me photograph you in this light_  


I’m supposed to be capturing this event, yet I can’t imagine ever taking a photo that captured how stunning you look.

 

 _In case it is the last time_  


You don’t like the people, the way they mob you and invade your personal space, so you probably won’t be back and I will never see you again.

 

 _That we might be exactly like we were_  


Different place, different time, yet it feels exactly the same. You’re here, but soon you’ll disappear again forever.

 

 _Before we realised_  


I don’t think you’ll ever know how I feel.

 

 _We were sad of getting old_  


I will love you forever, and you will never realise, never reciprocate.

 

 _It made us restless_  
_Oh, I'm so mad I'm getting old_  


I don’t think I can do this, not again. I watched you leave once, but I can’t face the idea of a lifetime of wondering what if.

 

 _It makes me reckless_  


This is going to be humiliating, the papers will report it as the final embarrassment, the final nail in the coffin for the Malfoy name, but at least I’ll know.

 

 _It was just like a movie_  


It’s like one of those funny camera effects, everything and everyone is out of focus except for you, as I push my way past people to reach you.

 

 _It was just like a song_  


You’ve seen me now. Your eyes are wide and surprised, but it looks like there’s the ghost of a smile forming.

 

_When we were young_

 

You say my name on a breathy exhale, almost like a question. I don’t think you’ve ever said my first name before. I’m momentarily stunned, and my words die in my throat. You reach your hand up and you’re touching my face, your fingers are so warm and gentle against my skin. You’re leaning closer and suddenly our lips are meeting, and it’s everything I ever imagined, and I can feel your arms wrapping around me, and every nerve in my body is crying out in elation at your touch. I still don’t know what this means or what will happen next, but I have Harry Potter in my arms and he is kissing me like he feels something back, and for the first time I feel like I might have a future, like I am still young.

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed :)  
> Come and find me on Tumblr! (Scarshavestories there too)


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